LILY EQUALS LIFE
by n33n
Summary: New approach to the whole Lily & James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same timeRemus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that worm, and Lily? Oh, Lily’s still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.[DONE]
1. Chapter 1

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

"It's always his effing, bloody fault! _James freaking Potter_. I'm going to torture him with medieval devices first, then let him die a slow, agonizing death begging me for mercy, which I under no circumstances, shall _never_ give," said a not-so-red-head fiercely.

Not-so-red-head? Wait, just _what the heck_ was wrong with that sentence? It was a completely normal Lily Evans, red-haired extraordinaire, type sentence.

So, who said it? James Potter's latest ex-girl friend?

Oh, it _was_ Lily Evans. With bright, curly, and very green freaking-looking hair.

Bad dye job? Ah, yes. The proudly accomplished work of Mr. James Freaking Potter.

"Y'know, it's not too bad. It somewhat matches your eyes," Lily's friend, Alice, tried to say to make things seem a little better. How much was James Potter paying her, you ask?

10 galleons for an hour.

Lily shot Alice a reproachful look. "Alice!" she whined, "it's not even the _right_ shade of green! It most certainly does _not_ match my eyes!"

"Oh, I do suppose you're right." Alice nodded and then with a quick glance at her watch, added, "He's hiding in that dusty suit of armor on the third floor, in case you were wondering."

Apparently, the said hour had run out.

"Thanks," Lily quickly said before rushing off to seek revenge.

Oh, dear…

As Lily stomped towards the innocent-looking knight-in-armour on the third floor, she was thinking of how the heck she could get James out of the suit without using magic. She suddenly became enlightened with an absolutely brilliant idea.

With a secret smile, she headed towards the knight slowly.

Lily leaned her head on the dusty knight's stiff shoulder and sighed rather dramatically.

"Oh, dear knight, you have no idea the woes I have to go through each day. I—I think I've just developed a fancy for dear James Potter, but after he hexed my dear hair today, I'm not so sure anymore…If only he hadn't…I had really just begun to like him too."

The knight's armor squeaked a bit, and Lily grinned wickedly.

She continued in a mournful voice as she noticed unruly black hair poking out through the side vents of the metal helmet, "Yes. He's just so drattedly handsome and charming. How could I _not_ like him? Oh dear, it seems like I'm talking to a plain knight. Too bad I can't say these words to James Potter himself."

Lily paused a moment before turning to leave, ready for James to pop out and declare his undying love for her.

"Oy, _Lily_!" James shouted suddenly from behind. Lily's grin grew wider.

"Potter! Where ever did you come from?" Lily asked, trying hard to look bewildered.

James stepped close up to her. "I heard everything," he breathed out quickly, looking somewhat flustered. His hair was in knotted tangles.

Lily felt her heart beat involuntarily quicken as he did so. She hated lying. But this was for a good cause—the well being and sanity of herself.

"Oh, really?" She nearly closed the gap by scooting even closer. Lily threw her arms around his neck, and James closed his eyes, leaning in.

At the very last second, Lily kneed him. Way hard. She let go of him and let him fall rather ungracefully to the hard, unwelcoming stone ground. Lily inwardly winced and thought, "_I'm so heartless_."

"_Damn flobberworms_!" James shrieked loudly in agony. He doubled over and bent down. Then, as if bending down was still hurting him too much, he merely fell flat on his back with a loud thud.

Lily saw this great pain and almost felt sorry for him. She opened her mouth to apologize, but out popped a sneering comment, "Serves you right, _dear_ Potter. As if _I'd_ ever think that way of you!"

She turned and left quickly, before her conscious made her go back and apologize to James.

o.O.o.O.o

"Sod off, Padfoot. I'm not in the mood," James grumbled as he limped over painfully, his eye twitching every few seconds from great misery. Sirius had just playfully punched him.

Sirius eyed him at first and feigned a hurt look. "Aww…my dear Prongsie-poo got his sweet little Snitch knickers up in a knot."

Finally, James managed to lower himself into his favorite squishy armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room. "Evans freaking _ouched_ me!"

"_Ouched_? You mean—oh, _no_! She did _not_!" Sirius nearly shouted loudly, looking quite appalled. Then his voice lowered to a 'quiet' whisper, "Not a whim of worry, dear Prongs, I swear by Dumbledore's sock fetish that I won't tell a single soul."

"Ouching isn't _that_ bad, Paddy. Certainly not to the point that you can't tell others. " James cocked an eyebrow at Sirius and then quickly added, "Though I rather you not, of course. It is a wound to my manly pride."

Sirius sucked in a breath. "_Not bad_?" he nearly shrieked, "has your dear ol' mum never told you to protect your _carnal treasure _from crazy, driven girls like Evans? You've—you've become _unpure_, dearest Prongsie!"

"What the bloody hell are you on, Padfoot? _Unpure_? Evans just—" James looked uncomfortable as he leaned over to Sirius to whisper it, "—_kneed_ me."

Sirius let out a barking laugh. "Ohh. That's loads better then. I was under the false and quite—make that extremely—disturbing impression that Evans either sexually molested you and/or raped you. Honestly though, from the way you were limping…" Sirius trailed off and winked at his best friend, chuckling lightly.

James glared at Sirius. "This is _a girl_ we're talking about. Men do not get raped by _women_."

Sirius became solemn and a grave silence followed.

Then, "Are you sure?"

"PADFOOT!" James exploded, turning an astonishing shade of red.

James's face turned softer as he replayed the ouch scene. "She's just an excellent kicker. Feisty. I _like_ it."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at James. "Did you just admit that you were turned on by her _kicking _you in the family jewels? You're not worried about not being able to procreate? I mean, I guess I can understand that good kicks can probably inflame your pe—"

James cut Sirius off, "—What I _meant, _Paddy, was that I like her personality. _Nothing _about sexual desire."

Noticing Sirius's genuine wounded expression, he added, "Not that she's not extremely hot and sexy, and yes, there is an infinitely small chance I might get turned on by her kneeing me in little James."

Sirius beamed.

"But I didn't," James said unnecessarily, causing Sirius's smile to turn into a glum scowl.

"I get it," Sirius said sourly, before starting to twiddle his thumbs. "Oy, Prongs, did you know that the expression 'to twiddle your thumbs' actually looks like _this_?" Sirius twiddled his thumbs in James's face to prove his point. "Odd, isn't it? I thought it'd be more like _this_. See, look?"

Sirius nearly poked out James's eyes when he did a surreal, tap-dance with his two thumbs. _Thank Merlin for my glasses. _

"How _interesting_, Padfoot. I think I'm going to go and—" James stood up abruptly and then came crashing down again. He groaned dramatically. "Damn Evans and her super-amazing, turn-me-on kickability. They hurt like heckkk."

"Was that 'heck' emphasized with two more 'k's after the normal 'k'?" Sirius asked breezily.

James glared. "Sod off, Padfoot, or I'm going to—"

But James never finished out his threat. Dear Ms. Lily Evans had returned.

* * *

Author's Note:

Wow. Another story…I need to stop writing so many.

Updates in a few days, if I get enough reviews! wink


	2. Chapter 2

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

"Psst! Padfoot," James hissed rather loudly. He did a quick motion with his hands—an upside down 'v'—a slightly gangster look—signaling for Sirius to disappear. Prompto. 

Sirius caught on and winked. He did the patented Marauders' hand sign with three fingers pointed straight down, spread out evenly. The special letter 'M'. The one that came before 'N' and after 'L'. Oh my Merlin, the _very_ gangster look.

"Yo, I got it, _bro_ Prongsie." Sirius quickly slid upstairs, grinning cheekily.

James grinned as well. Lily Evans, now with her normal hair color—thankfully—had just now walked past him, clearly ignoring the lump in the squishy blue armchair commonly known as James Potter. Or by his scientific name, _Marauderus Potterid Jameais Henra_.

James bolted up, looking rather flustered. Kind of like when stupid muggles go outside in 105 degree Fahrenheit weather, full sun without sunscreen on. _That_ type of red. He then winced as something…in the lower region of his body throbbed painfully. "Erm—how are you, Evans?"

Lily almost smiled at this rather comical sight, but then decided to give a small sigh. "I'm feeling quite fine today, Potter. Although I think you should be more concerned with yourself…" Lily trailed off, a smirk tugged on her mouth.

James pouted, but to Lily's eyes, it ended up looking like someone had continuously sucked James's mouth with a super-duty strong plunger and finally let go after three hours or so.

Lily wrinkled her nose, a look of disgust painted on her face. "Honestly, Potter, that is just absolutely _revolting_. What _is _that face?"

James quickly dropped his supposed cute puppy dog face—which was now officially his lip pumper-pumped-then-plunger-attacked face. He replaced it with a simple frown.

"Aww, Evans," James said, looking hurt.

"Don't 'aww, Evans' me," Lily snapped ferociously. "Now if you'll excuse me so very kindly, I need to work on some bloody Transfig paper."

"Transfig?" James repeated before his face brightened. "I could help you! I've noticed how McGonnie's always calling you out, and I find it very hard to believe that you somehow don't know the answer, especially when it's screaming so very loudly in front of you in your book…"

Lily glared daggers at James. James gulped. "For your information, _Potter_, our lovely Transfiguration book does _not_ scream—"

James quickly interrupted her, something Lily _loathed_. "—oh, but that was a figurative statement. Obviously, as any simpleton would know, our textbooks cannot talk, though I _have_ enchanted some to sing to cover up the sound of Sirius scratching his buttocks so loudly during Charms class."

James quite clearly had no whim of an idea that he was saying stuff that was offending Lily Evans. Very much.

Lily gritted her teeth. She did not need to know about Sirius's favorite past times nor did she like being called a simpleton, and most of all, she detested being interrupted in one of her comebacks.

"That's bloody _IT_!" Lily burst out angrily, her cheeks turning pink with fury. She clutched her wand and raised it.

"Sorry, come again? What's it?" James asked innocently, honestly confused.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_"

James's mouth was wide open in shock when he landed on his back for the second time in a day.

"Eat _filth_," Lily spat out heatedly and conjured up a spare Transfiguration book, stuffing it into James's wide open mouth. All 1,293 pages of it. _Ouchh_.

Though it really was quite amazing how big James's mouth was…and just how violent Lily Evans could be when provoked. Provoked meaning being in the ten feet proximity of that one bull-frog-mouthed _Marauderus Potterid Jameais Henra_.

o.O.o.O.o

Thirty minutes later…

"Oy, Prongs? Is dear Evans still down there with you?" Sirius hollered down the stairs into the Common Room. He paused, waiting for James's answer. When he heard none, he grinned widely. "Busy down there, _eh_, Prongsie? Well, it's all good, mate! You and Evans have a _nice_ time!"

Sirius sighed to himself. "I'm such a bloody great friend. I'm so _considerate _of others." Sirius wiped away a stray tear. "I'm such a _touching _person. Honestly."

Humming in an off-key tune to the latest hit, _My Magic Slippers_, Sirius bounced happily back into the dormitory thinking of many ways to get James to pay him back later for his grandly good deed.

o.O.o.O.o

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! You bloody S.O.B!" James all but shouted as he pounded heavily on the boys' dormitory door.

Sirius's head popped out, a look of annoyance plastered on his face.

"What _now_, Prongs?" he asked in a whiny voice. "You know, Prongs, I completely did you an _unselfish_ favor back there! And now—this, _this _blasphemy about me! Whatever did I do to deserve this utter, PMSing prat for a friend?" Sirius shook his arms up towards the ceiling rather dramatically, only stopping when he slammed one of his hands into the hard wooden door frame. "_Damn bloodidly door_!"

James folded his arms over his chest. "Are you _daft_? For one, I am _not_ having Pre-Menstrual Symptoms—"

Sirius cut in, "I, for one am _not_ daft! Daft makes me think of _ducks_, and I'm very _unduckly_, mind you! _Secondly_, I normally would have probably said PMMSing—Prongs's Manly Mood Swings, but since you were so nasty to me when I was ever so generous, it's now Prongs's Moody Shit."

"What the _bloody hell_?" James glared, looking frustrated and ready to unleash more of his 'moody shit'. "Damn it, Paddy, you left me in the Common Room _alone_. Evans freaking jinxed me! I could hear you say some load of crap about me having fun with Evans! Some friend _you_ are."

James harrumphed loudly, casting his nose in the air. He knew he had won this stupid argument. _Ha_.

Sirius looked bewildered and quite mortified. "Prongsie! You were _hexed_ by Evans? And I left you there…to—"

Sirius stopped in the middle of his guilt-ridden speech. "Hang on a minute, what's so bad about being Petrified?"

James rolled his eyes. "_Nothing_. Absolutely spiffing _nothing_, Padfoot. You just can't move around your bloody limbs or talk or anything. Not bad _at all_."

"Ah, I see."

"Oh, really?" James cocked an eyebrow up in surprise. Usually, it took a longer time for Sirius to catch up. That Bludger incident in third year…

"Yuppers doodles. So basically, you had a grand time downstairs not being able to move, and you're thinking that I'm supposed to apologize to you, buuuuut, really, _you're_ the one that's supposed to be saying sorry to _me_," Sirius said triumphantly. "See? I got it."

James sighed. This was getting no where. He might as well suck in a little (a lot) of manly pride and apologize to Sirius and get it over with. Besides, he _was _being a bit overdramatic.

"Alright, mate, come here," James said gruffly and opened his arms for an extremely manly, one armed, two-thumps on the back, finished with a rough push type-hug.

"_Aww_, Prongsie-poo! Of _course_ I forgive you!" Sirius squealed happily and jumped into James's arms and flung his arms around his neck.

James quickly unlatched himself from Sirius's grip, looking around in a panic to see if anyone dared to accuse him of homosexuality.

"Yeah, just don't leave me like that again," James growled, straightening his robes very manly-like.

Sirius beamed brightly. "Of course not, Prongs!"

James nodded, satisfied.

"I'll leave you there longer next time."

James groaned and slapped his forehead with a loud _smack_.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at James who quickly said, "Erm, just a nasty mosquito."

Sirius beamed again. "I **knew** I heard a faint buzzing. Here, let me get it for you!"

James realized his mistake and tried to explain quickly. "NO! I mean, no, no, Padfoot, I think it's flown off, _honestly_!"

Sirius swatted wildly, accidentally punching James in the nose and flinging his glasses off. "Nonsense, I just saw it on your nose! _Wait_, I think I've got it!"

With a resounding whack, Sirius slapped James unconscious across the face. James fell to the floor, slumped against the staircase.

Sirius glanced at his hand and saw the offending, now-dead bug. "YES! I got it, Prongs! I just _saved_ you from getting your blood involuntarily donated! Aren't you glad I was here, Prongs? Eh, Prongs? _Prongs_?"

Dear Prongs had long fainted.

* * *

Author's Note: 

That was a quite amusing chapter to write…more later on in the week or most likely, on the weekend.

Thanks so much to these awesome people for reviewing…it totally made my day!

******sequinedfasade, xx. just. a. contradiction.xx FootBallChick12, cosmopolitan, hyuetyu, Katty03 **


	3. Chapter 3

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

The next morning, James woke up with a rather sore, throbbing head and found himself still crumpled in a lump next to the staircase to the boys' dormitory door. According to a stuttering, half-awake Sirius who was clutching a bright pink teddy bear, James had oh-so-obviously sleepwalked in the middle of the night.

As he rubbed his head, trying to alleviate the pain, he somehow became enlightened. How? Well, we may never find out…

With an everlasting fire of excitement burning in his hazel eyes, James sprinted almost rabidly into the boys' dormitory room.

"_Moony_! Moony, wake up, mate! I have a bloody _crisis_ on my hands!" James shook at Remus maniacally. "Wake up, Moony!"

"Wharrr?" Remus asked incoherently and slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes groggily.

"You got a notebook, Moony?"

"A _notebook_? You woke me up for a _notebook_? Did you lose your eighth 'supposed' Charms notebook again? Because, I'd like to remind you, after losing your first, you stopped taking notes—if you'd call them that—and began your special doodling books," Remus reminded in an exasperated tone. "I'm pretty sure that dear Professor Retwick won't start looking at your 'notebooks' soon. He was extremely scarred from your last picture of Malfoy with his hair braided and chest enhanced _too_ abnormally."

"Nah. Thanks for reminding me though, I still need to finish that one bloody sexy drawing of Snivy dearest wearing that lovely pink polka-dot number," James grinned wickedly, a gleam in his eye. "No, really, Moony, I just need a new notebook, and since you're ever so the scholarly one of us four, I'd thought to ask you for one from your secret stash of notebooks underneath your bed."

Remus sighed and fell back on to his mattress. "I'm not even going to ask what you're going to put in this one. Underneath this bed, to the right."

"Thanks, Moony! I _knew_ it was underneath your bed!" James beamed happily and pounced underneath.

Remus groaned loudly and cursed. "Damn it, Prongs!" James had bumped most outrageously underneath, causing a wooden tidal wave involving springs and cushiony…stuff. "Get out from there _now_!"

James came out empty-handed. "I couldn't see underneath. Way too dark, Moony. I highly advise that you invest in a nightlight and stick it down there. Who knows what crazy boogyish night life might be roaming unchecked by you?"

Remus sighed loudly. "Obviously, Prongs, you completely forgot a tiny fact."

"_Accio, Pink Fluffy Notebook_." Remus said, raising his wand and flicking it expertly.

James glanced suspiciously at the very feminine seeming notebook that had sailed perfectly into his hand. "And what's that miniscule factoid, Moon?"

"You're a bloody _wizard_. You know, magic, spells, charms galore."

"Ohh, _that _fact! Hey, you're right; it seems as if I _did _forget that special information, didn't I?" James grinned and no trace of embarrassment could be found on his face. Then his face frowned. "But what's _this_ weird-colored fuzzy thing?"

Remus sighed for the third time in a row. "It's called _pink_, Prongs. Embrace your inner feminism. Let in envelop you with open arms. _Pink_, the medium between the universal hues of red and whi—"

"Huh?" James interrupted loudly with a confused look on his face. "What's that, Moony? _Pink_? What sort of a thing is that?"

"Oh, damn it, Prongs. It's the stupid notebook that you wanted. Open up," Remus snapped, frustrated, mostly at being interrupted during his wise words.

James obeyed and opened 'the weird, pink thing' up to find—gasp—_parchment_! "_Whoa_! Wicked cool, Moony! This is the absolute best thing since _me_! How'd you do that trick? Nice charmwork there, Moony—gotta hand it to you."

Suddenly James stopped and took a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my Merlin!" James started.

"Oh my _flipping _Merlin!" James continued.

"It's not humanly possible!" James said dramatically.

"It's _so—" _James started.

"_WHAT_, Prongs?" Remus asked, interrupting James as he was completely irritated at this build up of suspension.

"Hey, look! It's that thing you called _pink_ and now it's parchment—pink, parchment. Pink, parchment. Pink—"

"_Parchment_. I got it, Prongs, really," Remus cut in, getting quite annoyed at seeing James flip (abuse) the poor object back and forth to no end.

"Astounding!" James said in awe, his eyes widened at the sight, obviously not knowing it had come like that, manufactured. "It's absurdly _brilliant_!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yes, absolutely _bloody_ brilliant."

James finally caught on. "_What_, Moony?"

Remus sighed. "Prongs, get out. It's nearly six in the morning, and I'm not getting up till seven. _Ouuut_."

"Gee, Moony, no need to be so nice about it," James noted dryly and left with his 'brilliant' girlish notebook.

He plopped down on his squishy armchair that emitted a loud, fart noise when he did so. Quite frankly alarmed, James jumped up rapidly, cast his eyes both ways in search of people to modify their memories, and saw that no one was up this insanely early to laugh at this absurdity, before sitting back down again. A squeaky, long fart came out agonizingly slow.

A single thought illuminated through his mind as this sound came out.

_What the bloody hell did he eat for dinner last night? _

A double deckered chocolate bean burrito, James thought immediately.

James frowned. He was usually very good at keeping his farts in.

Thinking back on this, he noticed that the noise was _not_ coming from his butt. Surprisingly enough.

It had come from the armchair, James concluded, doing a quick scan of the now presumed at fault piece of furniture. Before his mind could think the first thought that popped into his head: **_I have found the world's first fart-producing armchair_**, James's hand instinctively reached for the armchair and turned it inside out.

An innocent looking, now air-deflated whoopie cushion popped out from under the seat. James groaned inwardly. He had placed this very same whoopie cushion nearly a day ago in this armchair, trying to find a naive enough person to sit on it. Just dandy.

This was a landmark moment. A Marauder getting pranked by his _own_ prank? Laughable. If the others knew, James would never be able to live that down.

Sighing, James counted himself lucky that no one heard. He removed the culprit from the room and sat back down, this time with no fart noises emitting from the chair.

He got out his favorite eagle quill and penned down three large words across the top of the first page of his notebook: _LILY EQUALS LIFE. _

James grinned. Who says that he didn't know how to get to a girl?

* * *

Author's Note:

I know, I know. You guys are thinking: FINALLY, some _plot_ to this! Yeah. Amazingly enough, there is a slight plot, but never fear, for I shall always stray off and come back (maybe). I'll try to leave a trail of something behind.

Next chapter next week…if I get enough reviews.

Empty threat, I know. I tried.

neen

Love you guys: cosmopolitan, FootBallChick12, amarvi, andddd sequinedfasade!

Mucho thanks.


	4. Chapter 4

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Four

* * *

_LILY EQUALS LIFE. _

The words gleamed against the pale yellow parchment.

James frowned, sitting back. That did seem a bit drastic. The meaning behind the words, he meant.

For the longest time ever, he had always thought that Quidditch, the best (and only) wizarding sport, was his one true love.

However, ever since he met the lovely Ms. Evans, his priorities changed immediately. He felt the odd absence of a vital organ every time Lily Evans was not present in class (which wasn't very often, thankfully for him).

_Honestly_, you say, how would _James Potter_ know if he didn't have an organ inside him?

Well, there _was_ that one time Lily magicked away his liver for ten agonizing seconds. Oooh, the burn.

But, that is beside the point.

The point being?

James Henry Potter was about to start a _log_.

Nooo, not the wood stuff that Sirius dances around singing Kumbaya.

The _writing _log. (Insert audible, in-disbelief gasp here).

Which is exactly what Sirius did when he happened to stumble upon this miraculous event.

"So," Sirius yawned widely, "what're you up to, Prongs?"

"Writing," was James's casual response.

"Ah, I see." Sirius stretched and yawned again. "_Wait. _You're doing _homework _this early in the morn?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow up.

"Nah," James answered, bent over in writing. "It's not school work."

"Oh," Sirius breathed out a loud sigh of relief.

"Yep."

"Hang on a minute." Sirius frowned, trying to process this information before he had his sugar for the day. Which was insanely hard, by the way. "You mean you're _writing_? On your own free will? Now, I _know_ that **I** didn't blackmail you to write. Writing is the evil transgression of all living things! It's just plain _mean_. Now, it's okay, Prongsie dearest, just tell me who's been bullying you around like this. I'll sock the bloody git for you," Sirius said calmly while trying to wrestle away the offending notebook James was still busy scrawling in.

James whacked Sirius's wrist and scowled. "No one's threatening to kill me or anything, Padfoot. _Honestly_."

Sirius squatted down to James's eye level. He looked into James's eyes solemnly and said, "James, I have a confession to make."

James's head popped up. Having a weird feeling this was something close to 'coming-out-of-the-cupboard', James edged a bit away from Sirius. "Erm, yes, Sirius?"

Sirius looked like he was ready to bawl. "The truth is, well…I—oh, it's just so hard to put into words. I know that—oh, _I've just been a horrible friend_!"

James looked confused. "Er—you have?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if you'll ever forgive me for this, but—I stole that February issue of _Quidditch Monthly_. It was the one with the ad for the new broomstick model too." Sirius's eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

"Oooh, so _that's_ where it went," James frowned at this news. "Well, it's okay, as long as I get it back."

Sirius looked ashamed. "Well, that's the problem…I actually let Wormtail eat it."

"You _what_?" James cried out in unsubtle outrage.

Sirius sat down on the floor with a soft _'plop'_ and nodded grimly. "Peter was getting hungry, and it was that one time where you told us not to go anywhere near the kitchens 'cause we set Dungbombs down there, and…yeah."

James sighed. "It's _fine_, Padfoot. Just don't do it again."

Sirius cringed. "Well, about your April issue…"

James raised an eyebrow and glared. "Yeah?"

"Just joking," Sirius said weakly. Then, "So, now, we don't have any secrets between us. You can tell me who's blackmailing you around like that. Nobody messes with a Marauder like that. I swear I won't tell them that you told me."

James rolled his eyes. "Padfoot, for the last bloody time, I am _not_ getting walked over at all. I'm doing this completely voluntarily, however miraculous that may seem, and yes, this is for Lily Evans."

Sirius looked flabbergasted. "Do what?"

"Never mind the last part," James said quickly. Too quickly.

"So." A smirk grew on Sirius's face. "For Evans, eh?"

James shrugged, trying hard to look indifferent. "Yeah."

"Aww," Sirius cooed as he affectionately ruffled James's hair, "how adowable, wittle Jamesie all **_serious_** (at this word, he let out a loud chortle) about his wittle cwush."

"Shut it, Paddy," James growled unhappily.

"Why are you doing this anyways?" Sirius asked, looking confused as he thought it through.

"Oh, it's just a little thing to tell me how far the relationship with Evans is going. You know, improvements and progresses," James said, a smug smile on his face. "Brilliant, I know."

"So." Sirius said conversationally, eyeing the pink-colored notebook curiously. "What do you have so far?"

James showed him the first page.

"_**November 8th**: Hullo there, Pink. From now on, I'm going to start informing you of Ms. Lily Marie Evan's and my interactions. It is a rather extreme measure, but I have an unconscious feeling that I must adhere to this. Was that above sentence dashingly intelligent or what? Anyway, about yesterday's interactions…_

_Interaction I_: _Pranked LME's hair a nice shade of forest green. Lovely, in my opinion. Matches her exquisite eyes. Ooh, two 'e' words in a row! Said person screamed at me. Ran away, dodging her spells. I have maddening Quidditch skills. _

_Interaction II_: _Said topic ouched me. Rather horrid experience at the time; however, I did exchange a few words about this painful incident with her. Her soft, angelic voice makes it all worth it in the end. **Must go gouge eyes out, for that was unbelievably sappy of me to write that**. …but it's true, I suppose…_

_Interaction III_: _LME came to Common Room. I, looking very charming indeed, thanks for asking, sat in my favorite blue squishy armchair. I think I offended her. Must check up on that. LME then hexed me, stuffed a Transfiguration book in my mouth, shot me a furious glare, and left me to die. How utterly attractive of her. She's hot when she gets that angry look at me. Which is often. Lucky me. _

_That is it for now, Pink. Not too bad, eh? Three incidents in one day. I must say, I **was **feeling rather good yesterday. It was a pleasant experience overall." _

Sirius snorted after reading this. "_Pleasant_, Prongs? _Pleasant? _Oh, really? I recall you screaming like a banshee when you walked in the Common Room after dear Evans kneed you so hard."

James frowned. "In retrospect, it _was_ a bit painful, but I'm glad it happened. It seems to have brought Evans and me closer together, onto another level, don't you think?"

Sirius shot James an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? The girl _despises, loathes, detests—abominates _you!"

"I can tell Evans's and my relationship is getting somewhere. It's developing rather healthily." James continued, nodding to himself at times, apparently not listening to anything Sirius was saying.

Sirius shook his head and started to twiddle his thumbs, his newfound ability.

"Ohh, _wicked_. I think I'm going to make them learn how to salsa," Sirius said thoughtfully to himself as he set his thumbs to the steps of the salsa.

James, on the other hand, had gone back to his notebook, Pink.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry, I'm running low on brain cells right now…I had to do waay too much school work. Isn't there some law that makes it so that it's illegal to give homework on _weekends_? I mean, siriusly.

Reviews? Suggestions welcomed as well. Thanks!

neen

Thank you soo, soo much for the reviews. I gobbled them straight up.


	5. Chapter 5

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

"Anyone want to _guess _what our dearest Prongsie love has been up to lately?" Sirius asked the Marauders' table later that morning, completely hyperactive with a double shot espresso, three packs of creamers, and five packs of sugar. Did I mention the six-ounce caramel flavoring? Not sugar-free, of course. "No takers? C'mon, guys, _guess_! Guess! Hang on a minute or two…you know, when you see the word, 'guess', don't you have to fight the irresistible urge to say 'goo-ess'? I mean, it totally looks like you should say it like that when you see it in writing, right? Hmm? Aaanyway, guys, goo-ess!" Sirius beamed happily as he asked his fellow friends at breakfast.

Remus continued to chew his food slowly and methodically, as if Sirius had never said anything in the first place, much less rant about the correct pronunciation of the word 'guess'.

Peter looked around awkwardly, trying to be like Remus and find something to immerse himself in. He settled on observing the plate's design. "Interesting," he muttered to himself, while rubbing the engraving.

Only James responded to Sirius's request. "Ermgh? What about me, Padfoot?" James still had his head tucked down in his journal, Pink, scribbling messily into it.

Sirius looked slightly annoyed. "No, _no_, Jamesie, _you_ can't goo-ess! It'll ruin all the good fun, because you so obviously know what I'm trying to get these people to goo-ess about!"

"Oh, okay, goobers," James said absentmindedly, as he was deep in thought with Pink. "I wonder…?"

Sirius dismissed James's jumbled babbling with a dramatic wave of his arm. "Anyone?" he pressed on, narrowing his eyes, trying to find a victim to terrorize for the next ten minutes before classes started. "_Ah_, Moony! You seem to be done with your food. Your input on this matter?"

Remus sighed, irritated. "Padfoot, I already know about it. This just might have to do with that pink notebook Prongs has?"

Sirius eyes widened and before he could let out a merry shout about what a pure genius Remus was, Remus cut him off with a, "Yes, well, I just happened to be the exact person to give it to James this very morning when he most rudely interrupted my sleep."

Sirius's face was crestfallen as he learned of this. "Ohh."

Then he turned to Peter hopefully, who had finally looked up when Remus spoke. Sirius had a broad grin when he asked Peter, "So, Wormy, did _you_ know about this Pink beforehand?"

"Erm, yeah. I was there in the dormitory room, and Moony and Prongs's conversation woke me up," Peter said, affirming this with a deep nod.

Sirius frowned and pouted. "How come _I'm _always the last to know everything? Why didn't _I _wake up at this racket?"

"Because you were hugging your pink teddy bear and saying things in your sleep like, "No, Prongsie, of course I didn't leave you by the stairwell…you slept-walked the entire night…yep! Noot me!" Remus explained dryly.

"Oh." Sirius said finally. "That explains things."

Remus sighed. "I'm heading for class. I'm a bit stressed right now."

James nodded. "Yeah, me too. Maybe I can catch up with Evans, and she and I could have another chat."

Sirius snorted. "Chat? You make it seem like a casual, friendly conversation. In reality, it's more like a disaster course, come to think of it…"

James shot Sirius a glare and whined, "Damn it, Padfoot, have some faith in me. You're my friend, you know. You're supposed to be encouraging and there to support me through—"

"—_and also to inform you if you get in deep shit_. Like you're going to be," Sirius interrupted with wise words. He nodded in appreciation at his words.

James grumbled something very similar to the words 'bloody noob' and left the table in a grumpy mood. Remus and Peter got up as well.

"I suppose I'm the only sane one now." Sirius sighed deeply and then glanced at his friends' retreating figures.

"Oy, wait for me!" He hurried after his departing friends.

o.O.o.O.o

"Damn draggedy Potions class with that squalid Slughorn," James cursed under his breath. Though he was one of Slughorn's most favored students, James still simply could not stand Slughorn's constant 'Oho!'s and 'that's my boy!'s.

As if on cue, Slughorn spotted James sitting in the very back. "Oho! James Potter, my boy, how are you today?" Slughorn motioned for James to step up and see him at his front desk.

James groaned mentally and slowly walked up. "Yes, Professor Slughorn?" he greeted politely.

"Oho! There's another one of my special club meetings tonight. It starts at seven o'clock sharp! Be there or be _square_! Oho, that was a quite lovely phrase, was it not, my boy? Eh?" Professor Slughorn smiled genuinely and thumped James's back.

"_Lovely_," James said through gritted teeth and retreated to his desk, ignoring Sirius's open sniggers beside him.

"_Oh, _poor dear Prongsie," Sirius whispered, grinning from ear to ear. "It seem as though _someone_ has to suffer tonight!"

"Sod off, Paddy," James said sourly, a glum look on his face.

"Where's my favorite girl, Lily Evans?" Professor Slughorn asked loudly, scanning his eyes across the crowd. "Lily? What are you doing down there under your desk?"

Lily sheepishly came out from under her hiding spot. "Sorry, Professor. I couldn't seem to find my quill." Lily lied smoothly, pointedly ignoring her friend's jab in her ribs.

"Right. Up you come, dear Lily!" Professor Slughorn waved a hand towards him, gesturing for her to walk up to him.

"Professor?"

"Yes, yes, as I was telling Mr. Potter back there, there's a special meeting tonight at seven! Be there or _be_—"

"_Square_. Yes, it's a rather lovely quote, Professor," Lily nodded, almost automatically and returned to her seat.

"Ah, yes. Today we will be mixing the Draught of Peace. Instructions are in your book, so please use them. Chop, chop!" Professor Slughorn said breezily and sat down at his desk, munching on macaroons.

"_Lovely_," two voices simultaneously said. Wide-eyed, they looked at each other in disbelief. Slowly, a pair of hazel eyes twinkled with delight.

James.

He winked at Lily, who was now glaring back at him and chopping at an extremely fast pace. She made a disgusted face when the ingredient she had been chopping burst and excreted yellow pus all over her hand.

Quickly, she wiped it off before it started to burn her and tried to shoot a glare at James. However, his head was bent down in an atrociously and blindingly pink object that Lily could only assume was a notebook since James was writing in it furiously.

'_What the bloody hell had gotten into Potter?' _was the sole thought running through Lily's bewildered mind. '_Him? Writing! What was the wizarding world coming to?'_

Dear Merlin, she prayed. Save us all. James Potter is going to bring down the world.

_Heeeeeeeeeeeeelppp!

* * *

_

Author's Note:

I'm trying to build it so that there's going to be more Lily and James moments in the future that James can document in Pink. Lol. Look for a chapter next week!

Reviews please? Thanks!

neen

Thank you soo, soo much for the reviews. They were all lovely and made my day. Honestly.

Except I only got three this time? Made me sad..


	6. Chapter 6

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

The day had ended quickly enough and soon night arrived. Lily sighed as she lethargically pulled on some dress robes for Slughorn's exclusive party.

"Honestly. These parties are a waste," Lily complained to herself as she swiped on some subtle eyeliner and mascara. "I don't even get why he bothers with me. I don't have any famous relatives. All he wants is to rub elbows with the high class people."

Across the hall at the boys' dormitory, a certain black-haired boy was thinking the same thing.

"Damn it. This is so bloody pointless! He only wants to talk to me because my parents are Aurors. _Really_. If my father was a Garbage Buster, he wouldn't even look at me twice," James grumbled to Sirius as he pulled on some brown woolen socks stitched with bright red bludgers.

"Ah, Prongs, don't be so miserable! Look at the bright side," Sirius said and blatantly pointed at the window, revealing what was outside, never bothering to notice it was raining rather heavily.

"It's _raining_, Padfoot," James pointed this out sourly and sulked some more. "What brightness is there?"

"I was just stretching my arm, Prongs!" Sirius said heatedly and crossed his arms in a very manly way. "What I _meant _to say was that your infatuation for four years, six months, three days, thirteen hours, seven minutes, and forty-two seconds, Ms. Lily Evans, will be there."

"Hey, that's right! I forgot about that," James nodded and grinned. "Thanks, Padfoot."

"Make that fifty-five seconds." Sirius shrugged. "But, any time, Prongsie love."

James glowered at him. "_Don't _say that! What if Evans gets the impression that I'm homosexual—with _you_?"

Sirius frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "What? Is that a _bad_ thing? Do you realize how many girls _and_ guys would give just about _anything_ to be even in the same conversation with ever-so-lovely me?"

James cocked a skeptical eyebrow up. "In your overactive mind?"

He pouted. "Now, Jamesie! Are you doubting my charm and charisma?"

James coughed rather loudly, his eyes slightly bulging as he nearly choked on his own spit. "Erm, of course not."

Sirius continued to pout.

James rolled his eyes at Sirius's reaction. "I have to get going. I'll see you tonight, Pads!"

Ignoring Sirius's outraged cry at James's nickname for him being extremely similar to female hygiene products, he left the room in high spirits at the prospect of seeing Lily.

------

As soon as James entered the room, Slughorn immediately engulfed him in a bear hug and stepped back a minute later.

"Oho, James m'boy! How's your dear old father doing up in the Auror department? Doing a splendid job, eh?" Professor Slughorn inquired in an overly friendly tone. "I hope I find him quite well?"

"He's just peachy, Professor," James responded automatically, looking past Slughorn's shoulder for a sign of burning red hair.

"Ah, that's always good to know! _Aha!_ Who is that young lady I see? _Miss Lily Evans_! Why, that charm you did today was absolutely brilliant! You're going to be fabulously famous one day, Lily dear," Professor Slughorn nodded, as if affirming this. "I can _feel_ it," he added in a whisper, giving her a wink.

"Thanks, Professor," Lily replied dryly, pushing past Slughorn and the ecstatic-looking James Potter. "As long as I don't become famous for dying at the clutches of some evil wizard, I'll be fine with becoming famous for anything else."

James hurried after her with a cocky, big smile in place. "Oy, Lily!"

Lily turned around, an exasperated look on her face. "_Yes_, Potter? I'm absolutely pleased to make your acquaintance. Now, what the bloody hell do you want from me?"

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!" James answered cheerfully, grabbing two frothing butterbeers from a nearby table. "Care for a butterbeer?"

Lily accepted it daintily and took a sip, dipping her mouth into the sweet substance. "Thank you."

She started to leave when James stopped her again by blocking her path.

"Wait." James looked somewhat confused, his nose sprinkled with faint wrinkles. "Aren't you supposed to gush and say, 'James, you lovely _sweetie_!' and snog me senseless to thank me for my generosity?"

Lily shot him a glare and reddened. "_No_. You must be daft, you idiotic imbecile. First of all, the butterbeer's free, so you're not exactly being generous by handing me one. Secondly, you are so arrogant and supercilious anyway that I highly doubt you know how to compliment something else other than your flipping broomstick for breaking a new speed record during Quidditch practice!"

James quickly shot back, "Now, Lily, I definitely know how to compliment people! How many times have I told you how green your eyes are? Like the pickled-toads in Slughorn's office. And you _do_ have quite a nice rack and the cutest arse ever that I would love to pinch." He gave Lily a very suggestive wink as he said this last part.

If possible, Lily turned a deeper shade of red, and her eyes suddenly became narrow slits.

Lily exploded. _"**POTTER**_!"

"Yes?" James asked innocently, looking up at the quite boring, unenchanted ceiling.

"That was completely uncalled for! You know exactly what I meant by my comment earlier," Lily said furiously, as she tweaked her nose with her finger in anger.

"Sorry. Come again, Lily dearest?" James feigned.

"Argh! Never you mind, Potter. Just leave me alone—I'm feeling a dreadful headache coming along," Lily spat out and rubbed her temples.

James nodded, and his face took on a serious note. "Oh, but of course, Lily! I'll leave you to be. I'm dreadfully sorry for bothering you in the first place."

Lily, a bit surprised at this polite response, turned around to go sit down somewhere and nurse her throbbing headache.

As she did so, she felt, without a doubt, the fingers of James Potter pinching her butt quickly. Absolutely outraged, Lily promptly turned around and rapidly flipped out her trusty wand, ready to hex one James Potter into oblivion and beyond.

She looked around. James apparently had already disappeared into the thick crowd of people linked to important people, and Lily was left alone to stare confusedly about at the busy bustling of socializing figures surrounding her that was talking to everyone _but _her.

Lily sat down at a lone chair in the corner of the room, wondering when the party would ever end.

Oddly enough, she had never felt so alone before in her life.

She was feeling so desperate that she even wished that (though she would never admit it to anyone else) maybe Potter would reappear and torment her some more.

Such loneliness saddened her and quiet tears dripped down her face as she waited impatiently for time to roll on by.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait! I apologize for forgetting about this. I took down some stories, because I simply could not juggle so much. My schedule is paaacked this month, until like June 10thish. Yeah, it sucks.

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…even a line. I've been disappointed by the lack of response…so I'm thinking you guys don't like it much? sobs

neen

Thanks to the people who did review!


	7. Chapter 7

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

"My dear _Lilykins_! There you are! I've been looking all over the place for you." An obnoxiously loud and deep voice penetrated through her head. "So evasive, aren't you?"

She groggily sat up, covering her mouth as she yawned slightly. "Eurgh?" Lily greeted the speaker eloquently.

"You fell asleep on a table?" James asked as soon as he saw her and a look of disbelief spread across his face. He sat down across from her at the table she was at.

Lily reddened slightly and didn't answer, so James shook off the expression. "Never mind."

An awkward silence passed as neither person knew just what to say.

"So, are you enjoying the party much?" James asked lightly, speaking to the table, as he tried to spark some conversation.

Lily rolled her eyes expertly. "It's simply lovely. And what about you?"

"It's quite delightful to be informed of your father's each and every single great accomplishment. Which, of course, includes going to the loo seven times in one day," James said, grinning widely. "That's his best one yet, obviously. Capturing nine Dark Wizard supporters in one night pales in comparison to that, don't you think?"

Lily bit down on her lip to keep from grinning as well. "Well, it seems that your father has an extremely bad case of an overactive bladder. He might want to check it out. It could very much be a symptom of a sexually-transmitted disease and all," Lily said, keeping a straight face the entire time as she said this.

James cocked an eyebrow up, struggling not to burst out laughing. "I don't know whether or not I should laugh at the absurdity of it or be mad that you just insulted my father."

Lily shrugged indifferently. "Whatever suits you, I guess."

"All right."

Approximately 10.72 seconds after he said this, James threw himself into a fit of chuckles. "That was indeed quite funny, Evans. Just don't tell my father I didn't defend him."

Lily cast him a bewildered glance at this sudden outburst and shook her head.

She suddenly realized something very surreal. She and _James Potter_ were having a somewhat decent conversation.

"So, what are _you_ doing here?" Lily said in a sneering tone, giving her famous 'leave-me-the-eff-alone' face.

James looked surprised at her sudden change in mood. "PMS, anyone?"

Lily shot him a glare. "For your information, _Potter_, every time a female specimen gets angry, it does _not_ necessarily have to be blamed on PMS," Lily said hotly.

"Oh, I see what you mean by that. _Girl problems_, anyone?" James shot back, grinning.

Lily closed her eyes and mentally told herself to be still and calm. She would hold in her temper. McGonagall had told her that if Lily bit off James's head one more time in class, she would have to put her in anger-management classes. So, this would be good practice. Deep breath. Another deep breath. _The ten-second rule usually worked. _

"1…2….3….4….5…" Lily muttered softly, but James heard it all due to his keen hearing.

"Er, is that some type of new sleep method? 3…4…5…? Oh! Wait, I know! You're counting _sheep_, aren't you? Evans, honestly, I grew out of that habit like two months ago," James shook his head.

Lily nearly exploded. _Must calm down. DO NOT EXPLODE. Well, if the ten-second rule doesn't work, maybe the twenty-second one will_.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…" Lily tried once more.

"Merlin, you must really need some sleep! You're counting all over again. Well, I guess if sheep-counting works, I won't laugh at you," James said with what he thought was a generous tone. "Well, I won't make fun of you _too_ much."

"I am _not_ counting sheep, Potter! I have never counted sheep before in my life! Counting sheep is for incompetent people with the initials JHP! I simply cannot believe that you were still counting sheep at the ripe age of sixteen! _Really_," Lily finally burst out, blinking her eyes open and showing rage.

James stared at her for a moment or two. Then, "You know my initials?"

Lily's cheeks flushed a pale pink. "That is not the point, Potter! The point at hand is—"

"So how did you figure out my initials? Have you been stalking me the moment I popped out of my mum or something? Snatched my birth certificate out of my dear old mum's hands as soon as I was born? You are _such _a horrid person, Evans," James said with a bright twinkle in his eye.

"I did _not_ stalk you, Potter! As you know good and well, I am about two months younger than you, which makes it quite impossible for me to steal your birth certificate while I was still in my mother's womb!" Lily retorted angrily, splotches of pink splattered across her cheeks.

"Key words, 'did not'. You could be stalking me right now, you know. And how did you know that I'm two months older than you?" James asked slyly. "Broke into the student records and looked up my birthday, did you?"

"I did nothing of the sort!" Lily snapped and refused to say anything else.

"Oh, so you probably know where I live, my blood type, and that I'm allergic to seafood?" James continued, nearly laughing by now. "And of course, I expect a present now that I know you know my birthday." James gave her a quick wink.

Lily frowned. "I _told_ you, it was just a coincidence that I knew those things. I didn't know any of that you just told me."

"Oh, really now?" James smirked.

"_Yes_, really," Lily glared again.

"Hmm, I happen to think that this is a very suspicious matter indeed," James said thoughtfully, rubbing at his jaw, which made Lily glance over at it.

It was really defined, strong, and perfect, as if chiseled by a master sculptor from the best marble. For an odd moment, Lily longed to trace his jaw line with her finger. She stood up from the table at this sudden traitorous thought and nearly bolted from the table, almost tripping on herself as James stood up and asked where she was going.

"Evans, where are you heading to? We haven't finished this conversation!" James called after her.

"I really need to go," Lily said quickly and fled towards the Gryffindor Common Room, ignoring the protests of James and Professor Slughorn, who required that all invitees to stay at least three hours.

Without taking a stop, Lily ran through the corridors (something she had never done before), and finally halted at the foot of her bed.

Alice had saw her enter the Common Room and rose to see how she was, but Lily shook her head and raced upstairs to the girls' dormitory.

She sat down on her bed and sighed. What had gotten into her tonight? She shivered at the thought of being attracted to James Potter's jaw line. _It was just a fluke. I am not attracted to his jaw or even worse, James Potter. He does _not_ have a sexy jaw or…I AM **NOT** ATTRACTED TO HIM. _

Lily shook her head hard, trying to forget the image of his jaw. As soon as she did so, her mind conjured up a picture of a pair of mischievous, twinkling, and warm hazel eyes that try as she might, she simply could not stop thinking about the entire night.

* * *

Author's Note:

**Updates** will be coming **faster** as soon as I get out of school and stuff…and get **more reviews**! Hah, I'm so greedy.

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen

Thanks to the people who reviewed!


	8. Chapter 8

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Eight

* * *

"I see you've abandoned your dearly beloved," Remus noted with a nod, prodding James in the lap with the butter knife he was holding in his hand.

James looked horrified and jumped over to two seats down from the rest of the Marauders. He spluttered out, "Moony! _Do_ watch where you're pointing that blasted thing, won't you? My_ precious_ little James! _Honestly_."

James was still in horror as he looked at the warm toast he had placed on his plate minutes earlier. He poked it tentatively with his finger and then dramatically announced, "I have completely lost my appetite, thanks to Moony dearest scaring the hell out of me."

Sirius merely snorted at this declaration and resumed stuffing his mouth with buttered biscuits and pumpkin juice. Peter, as usual, had little to contribute to the conversation and moved his eggs around his plate a few times.

James then paused. "Oh. And what dearly beloved were you referring to, Moony?"

Remus sighed. "_Pink_. The notebook that you were passionately scribbling your notes in between each breath you took."

"Oh. Well, I haven't added anything yet, because I'm too busy contemplating my relationship status with Evans," James explained, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Relationship status?" Remus echoed, raising a high eyebrow.

Sirius guffawed into his sausage. "I do not believe enemyship is a word. Therefore, I will make it one, and announce that Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter's relationship is an enemyship."

"No, that's not quite right," Peter began and then stopped, as he had lost his train of thought and was not used to speaking his mind. He quickly muttered a small, "Sorry!" and resumed picking at his eggs.

Remus nodded, however. "Peter's right. James is infatuated with Lily, but Lily doesn't give a crap about James."

"Nice way to put it," Sirius nodded with approval. "Quite like an unrequited love."

James glared at them both. "Thanks, you guys. I can feel the emotional and moral support absolutely radiating off of you two." James grumbled with a sour look on his face.

"Any time, Prongs! That's what we're here for," Sirius said, grinning broadly, and ignoring the sharp warning jab in the ribs Remus was giving him.

"Hmpth," James harrumphed and left the Great Hall in a storm.

"What's up with _him_? Merlin!" Sirius asked to no one in particular. Remus sighed and shrugged helplessly.

"Must be his manly mood swings kicking in. I reckon it's that time of the month. Of course, I don't keep tabs on his monthly body system calendar," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Though I should, I suppose. I'd be able to get out his warpath."

The two remaining Marauders agreed at this proposition and immediately began to document each time James became angry all of the sudden. They suddenly noticed a surreal pattern in his behavior…

o.O.o.O.o

Just as James Potter walked out of the Great Hall, he immediately bumped into someone.

It was Lily, looking all puffy-eyed and bags under her eyes.

"Evans?" James called out in surprise. "Are you feeling okay?"

To Lily's surprise, it wasn't arrogant-sounding, but actually full of concern. But he was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

Lily glanced up to meet him and tell him off for asking her if she was well. Wrong move. Deadly wrong move. Her eyes moved seemingly magnetically towards his jaw, and she could not pull off her gaze.

She involuntarily took a step towards him and hesitated, her hand resting in mid air. _Don't do it, Lily Marie. You're going to regret it and James Potter is going to make you look like a fool._

Oh, but she did it. Her hand reached across and gently brushed James's jaw. As soon as she did so, the spell seemed to be broken, and her senses finally jumped back in. _Thank Merlin_.

Lily stepped back quickly, surprised at her boldness and muttering a small "sorry" to James, she fled into the Great Hall, far away from the source of her troubles.

She left James standing alone in front of the entrance to the Great Hall, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Shaking his head at the weirdness of it all, he started towards the Common Room to spend some quality time with 'his dearest beloved', _Pink_.

o.O.o.O.o

"_**November 11th**: Pink, dearest, sorry for not filling in for the past three days. I know how you long to see my eloquent words and graceful handwriting. Fear not, I shall let you have enough of it today! I have much to inform you, Pink, love. The craziest things have happened to me in the past twenty-four hours…Let me begin. _

_Interaction I_: _LME and I both were invited to dear Sluggie's social party, and we both expressed our disgust at these invites at the same time. Quite adorable, isn't it? I thought so._

_Interaction II: Saw her at Sluggie's party. Highlight of my night. Sorry if you're getting jealous. I know that you simply cannot resist my charm, my dashing good looks, and witty personality. It's too bad we didn't meet before…It's too bad I met LME first. Otherwise…perhaps, we'd get together. Merlin, I'm telling this to a notebook. Sorry, Pink, I know you're probably hurt. You are always more than a notebook in my heart. That's what counts, isn't it, dear? Anyways, I pinched her butt, and I am proud to say she squealed in delight. Pure, unadulterated delight. Yes, I must say, that was really lovely of me to do so. I then disappear, leaving her hanging and longing after my lovely presence. _

_Interaction III: After an hour or so of not seeing her, I became worried and start a search party consisting of…well, me. So I was a search person on a mission to find one LME. Found her dozing peacefully at a dark table in the back corner. Apparently, she was counting sheep. Said person got pissed off for some reason because I found out that she is a stalker…and the person she adores and stalks is me. Horrifying, I know. It's good that I'm actually interested in her. Otherwise, I would have to put a restraining order on her. Feisty and driven, she is. If you get what I mean. Had an excellent conversation until her face started turning weird. Her nose kept twitching, and I wondered if she has a twitchage problem. Decided not to ask, and finally, just as I was about to (because her twitchage was getting out of hand…it looked that she would make her nose fly off any second), she suddenly bursts out and runs off. I must say, I had fun staring at her arse as she ran off. It was only a three second glance though. Pooey. _

_Interaction IV: I told you I had a lot to say. Well, bumped into her at the entrance to the Great Hall just minutes ago. We exchanged a few words. She didn't look well, so I asked. She looked at me all funny and her nose began twitching even worse than last night. I was going to ask her (really) again when she stepped closer to me. LME then runs her hand up and down my jaw and mouth. Then apologizes and leaves. Pink, women are so confusing. Except for you. But understanding comes with a price. You lack boobage and buttocks. It is a sad, sad world. _

_I must leave you at once. LME has arrived. What will happen? Who knows? I shall return. Wait for me, love."

* * *

_

Author's Note:

MORE REVIEWWWWWWWS! Haha. Thanks!

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen

Thanks to the people who reviewed!


	9. Chapter 9

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Nine

* * *

She looked a rather sick, pasty shade of green. A bit unattractive, James was forced to admit grudgingly.

So he told her, being the suave and smooth heartthrob he is known for.

"Evans, you look absolutely horrid," James said, trying hard to say it as nicely as possible.

Lily scowled at this comment, and a bit of pink returned to her cheeks. "Why, thank you for informing me of that, Potter. So kind and sweet of you."

James nodded curtly. "I know. You're the only person I can quite bring myself to say things like that."

Lily rolled her eyes at his stab at something romantic. "How adorable."

Somehow, James had sidled up to Lily and flashed her an arrogant grin. "Aren't I just _so_ adorable?"

"_No_, Potter! I was just—_just_…" Lily's head snapped up as she had before been determinedly staring at the ground for good reason. Her eyes, once again, became glued to the sight of James's jaw. For lack of a better word, she merely said, "Eniruugh!"

James looked confused. "Sorry, did you just say _"Eniruugh"_?"

Lily shook her head, her eyes not bothering to blink. They simply could not resist taking in the sight of the Magnificent James Potter Jaw.

"Er, Evans? Are you all right? It seems you're mesmerized by my stubble," James said, shooting an arched eyebrow into his hair. "I know I haven't shaved in three days, and it's quite attractive on me, but really. If I had known before that my stubble turns you on, I would've grown a beard or a goatee. Your pick."

Lily managed to stop ogling for thirty short seconds. "For your information, _Potter_, I was **not** staring at your bloody stubble. I was just…staring at the massive dried crusty thing most likely left over from your pumpkin juice this morning," Lily said quickly, lying smoothly.

To her great delight, James ran a hand under his jaw, therefore breaking off the insanely weird connection of Lily's gaze and James's jaw. _Whew_, _a few more minutes, and I probably would have jumped on him and rubbed his jaw. Ew. I did not just voice that thought in my mind. _

"I can't feel anything," James said, continuing to finger his jaw, looking quite frustrated.

"Oh, but you're not looking hard enough. It's right ther---_Eniruugh_!" Lily had reached up to point out the 'pumpkin juice spot', but at the same time, James had dropped his hand down, letting Lily's eyes become exposed to…James's jaw. As Lily's hand was in mid-air, she, once again, had her hand stuck to the side of James's jaw.

James looked at her, startled. "Evans, what in Merlin's beard are you doing? You just did that thirty minutes ago. Is this some secret signal that you're trying to give me? You fancy me?"

"No, no," Lily shook her head, still rubbing James's jaw. "I don't fancy _you_. I fancy your jaw." Lily corrected quickly, then realized her mistake.

James looked at her with a weird expression on his face. "You what?"

Lily could not tear her gaze from James's jaw, so she had to look into his eyes and mutter, "Nothing at all."

James, however, had indeed heard the first time. "You have the hots for my _jaw_? Out of _all_ my body parts, you like my jaw? Are you feeling sane?"

"Shut up, Potter. Please remove my hand from your filthy jaw," Lily said through gritted teeth, trying hard to pull her hand from his jaw, but it seemed that it was apparently glued on with a Permanent Sticking Charm.

James grinned toothily. "No, thanks though. I quite like your consistent rubbing against my face. It's rather soothing, don't you think?"

"_Merlin_! What in the magical world of me is going on here?" A loud, booming voice asked out in pure disbelief.

Sirius Black. Followed in quickly by Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

"It's not what you think!" Lily exclaimed, protesting loudly.

"It's _exactly_ what you think!" James's grin widened, and winked smugly.

Both people had said things at the same exact time. Lily looked at James, angry and ready to smack James, if her hand had not been glued to his chin and if her other hand was not busy trying to free her other hand.

"Evans…you seem to move around fast, eh? First, you're telling us you hate James's guts. Now you're giving off the impression that we just interrupted you two in the middle of a heated, passionate snog session. Which, of course, I'm quite certain we did," Sirius said, smirking widely.

"You filthy dog!" Lily accused wildly, sending a glare at the cheerful and bouncy person.

Sirius's smirk widened even further, if possible. "You have no earthly idea how right you are, my dear Evans!"

Lily shot him a rather confused look and shrugged it off, not even wanting to ask. _He's probably referring to the rather odd habit of his eating doggie biscuits as snacks or something. Weirdo_.

"It seems that lovely Ms. Evans is attracted to my jaw and simply cannot refuse to give in to touching it any spare given moment. She is empty without it," James declared arrogantly.

"WILL SOMEONE JUST PLEASE GET MY BLOODY HAND OFF HIS BLOODIDLY SEXY JAW?" Lily finally exploded, not being able to take the embarrassment at being seen and commented at like this. Too late, she realized her grave mistake.

"My sexy jaw, eh? See? What did I tell you about her being attracted to my jaw? I was speaking the truth," James said, as Remus had looked at him a bit skeptically before. Now, Remus was glancing at Lily, a bit surprised.

"I didn't mean what I said…" Lily tried weakly, but to no avail. Sirius was whooping loudly, Remus had his mouth hung open, and Peter? Even Peter was grinning at this.

Then she did the only thing she could at that given point in time, at that given situation at hand. She laughed.

Yep, she laughed. Unable to stop between breaths, she laughed, chortled, giggled, guffawed, chuckled, tittered, sniggered, snickered, and even hooted while having one hand still firmly attached to James's jaw.

Everyone else was quiet at this point and was carefully watching how Lily Evans handled herself.

"This is insane!" Lily chuckled. "It's like we're living out some crazy situation in a weird story that some maniac authoress wrote up!"

"Erm, what?" James asked, giving off the air of puzzlement.

"And how would you know it was an _authoress_? Sexist!" Sirius vehemently said.

Lily quickly regained her composure. "Never mind," she snapped.

Remus cleared his throat. "Well, what Sirius, Peter, and I were about to say until we stumbled upon this scene was you seem to have a certain pattern of when you get angry."

"Or another popular term would be, 'Prongs's Manly Mood Swings'," Sirius clarified, shooting James a dignified nod.

"Erm, what?" James repeated, looked even more perplexed.

Remus continued, "It seems that you get mad _every time_ before you have a nice little chat with Pink."

"Yeah, it seems that Pink is just the ultimate reliever," Sirius added, smirking. "What can I say? That lovely bod with all that glorious hair that you can't resist running your fingers through...What _isn't_ great about her?"

"Yeah, we can understand your reasoning, James," Peter piped up. "All that fuzzy, pin—"

"—_All that fuzzy, pinkiness that girls seem to give off, _eh, Worm?" Sirius quickly intervened, shooting Peter a glare, signaling him to back off.

James was still staring at the three with great confusion until Remus somehow managed to subtly nudge James in the ribs without letting Lily, who was still attached to James's jaw, see.

"Ohh. Yeah. Pink is the ideal girl, I s'ppose. I mean, Lily, you are really great and everything, but Pink is _just _so perfect," James said, cottoning on.

A new feeling gnawed a bit at Lily.

"Oh, really?" she cocked an eyebrow up. "And just who is this special girl, _Potter_?

Lily Evans, looked, magnificently **pissed off**.

And her hand? Still attached to James's jaw, allowing easy access for a muffled slap.

* * *

Author's Note:

YES! I hope I aced my precal exam. It was torture, lemme tell you!

ALMOST DONE WITH SCHOOL!

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen

Thanks to the people who reviewed!


	10. Chapter 10

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

**AM HOLDING A CONTEST THINGIE. IF I GET AT LEAST 10+ REVIEWS IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS FOR THIS STORY, I WILL UPDATE DURING THE 25th HOUR. Ooh.

* * *

**

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Ten

* * *

"Ow, Lils," James said, rubbing his jaw. Which was actually Lily's hand, that was _on top_ of his jaw. Still.

Lily's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Oh, Padfoot, you can cut it now," Remus sighed, prodding a grinning Sirius.

"Fine," Sirius grumbled and quickly muttered the counterspell for the charm he had used on Lily's hand.

Lily's hand was now magically separated from James's jaw.

She looked amazed at this and asked of Sirius. "You set a charm for this?"

"Yep."

Lily, losing interest in this conversation, turned to James, a murderous look in his eyes. "So this _Pink_, eh, Potter?"

James looked nervous, now that Lily's hand wasn't attached to his jaw. _'This could result in very dangerous situations,' _he thought. _'Regarding my ability to procreate and bless the world with more baby Potters.'_

"Erm, yes?" James's voice, to his dismay, was a bit shaky.

"A smart cookie, this Pink?" Lily asked dangerously.

"Er—" James pondered this a moment. Nah, notebooks didn't have actual brains, right?

"Not really."

Lily looked satisfied at this answer. She asked another question. "

"Pretty, is she?" Lily asked, glaring hard at James, who was feeling shorter somehow, by the second.

"Er," James stumbled, looking around for someone to mouth him the right answer. He glanced at Sirius first. Sirius was nodding frantically. "Yeah…"

Lily's eyes bulged. "_Yeah_?"

"Eh." James looked at Remus now, who was shaking his head wildly. His eyes were widened and panicky looking.

"No-o," James said now, uncertainly.

Lily caught the uncertainty in his voice and flashed her eyes once again. "Which one is it? Is she pretty or not?"

James now glanced at Peter, who always stood behind Sirius's actions. He was nodding his head 'yes'.

"Yes," James answered intelligently, not noticing that Lily's eyes had protruded so much, they could've fallen out.

Lily looked furious. "You are the biggest sodding twit I've ever met!"

Jabbing her finger hard into James's shoulder, she turned at her heels and ran off.

"_Smooth_, Prongs. Smooth," Remus said dryly and shook his head sadly at this.

Sirius, on the other hand, clapped a hand onto James's hurting shoulder and grinned brightly. "Lovely piece of work you just did, Prongs! Simply _lovely._"

James's face had a sour note. "Lovely? She hates my guts now, _Paddy_. Thanks a lot."

Sirius shook his head and a knowing smile erupted onto his face. "Ah, _young_ _one, _this is where you are wrong! She is actually very in like with you, and you have just made her realize it!"

"Realize it?" James echoed, looking confused. "I have?"

Sirius nodded eagerly and continued, "You have succeeded in making Miss Evans _jealous_. That green tiger of envy, pouncing at the next victim…"

James was slowly nodding himself. "Hey, that's right! You're _bloody _brilliant, Padfoot!"

Sirius smiled smugly. "I know, Prongsie. No need to reinforce it."

Remus shook his head again. "No. You have succeeded in making Lily jealous, but she _does not_ know it. She's more so mad at you."

James's face fell. "Oh."

"But," Sirius said hastily, looking annoyed that Remus had brought him down, "the anger will evolve into self-doubt thoughts, which I'm sure, includes whether or not she likes you. It's a psychological phenomenon. Don't you worry, Prongsie, m'boy!"

"Ten galleons," was all Remus said after Sirius said this.

"You're on, Wolf Boy," Sirius said solemnly, and the two shook hands in that weird Marauder handshake, which looked oddly similar to a simple handshake.

o.O.o.O.o

Lily was upstairs in the girls' dormitory, her hide out place from the Marauders.

It was quite possibly the only place the Marauders had not succeeded into going into.

Lily thanked her lucky stars each night that this still held true.

As she sat on her bed, she could hear the unmistakable slap of a handshake and war cries. She sighed.

Lily's mind found her thinking of how annoyed she was when James told her that this _Pink_ girl was pretty.

She huffed to herself, "_Pink_. What a ridiculous name, anyways! The name of a color. Does her mother have no creativity?"

Lily sank into her bed, adjusting her head onto her soft pillow. "Drat that prick. I'd like to see this _Pink_ girl for myself. I bet I'm prettier than her."

Lily suddenly sat up, gasping. "What am I saying? When did I get so conceited?"

A naughty, tiny voice inside her head said, '_It's always been there, Lily Evans_. _You're **jealous**_.'

Lily shook this notion off very quickly. "Jealous? Hah! That's simply _hilarious_! I don't know the _meaning_ of jealousy!"

Then the self-doubt hit.

She fidgeted with the fringe on her blanket worriedly. "What if I _am_ getting jealous? But why?"

Lily sighed, pulling on the string busily with worry. Then it hit her. "No…_no_. I can't be jealous of _Pink_ over—over _that guy_!"

She shook with _fear_. She _couldn't_ like Potter. They've been in hate forever, and there could not be a change.

Lily liked order. She was a perfectionist, hated surprises, and did not like change. Actually, she _loathed_ change.

_'So, that,' _she thought furiously, _'was why she didn't like James Potter_.'

The naughty, _evil_ voice interrupted again. '_But_', it began slyly, '_James Potter is a hell of a cutie. And his jaw…can't forget his jaw_.'

Lily frowned. It was true, of course. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, James was cute. Attractive, even. If only he wasn't such a bloodidly annoying little prat so much of the time. '_No_. _I'm **not** attracted to his jaw. Sirius put that spell on my hand, remember_?'

'_Oh_. _But you liked it_,' the voice said. Lily could imagine it smirking. If a voice _had_ facial expressions. Or a face, for that matter.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lily shouted out of great frustration. "Would someone please get James freaking Potter out of my head!"

o.O.o.O.o

Downstairs, they heard an unmistakable shout of frustration, and the words, "Would someone please get James freaking Potter out of my head!"

Sirius grinned. Remus paled. James grinned.

The sound of coins jingling in Sirius's pocket could be heard thirty seconds later.

James had stopped writing in Pink in mid-sentence of, "LILY MARIE EVANS LOVES MY JA—"

"Quick, guys, was that a damsel in distress?" James asked, looking up eagerly at the girls' dormitory door. He pocketed his loved Pink into his robe pocket.

Remus shook his head quickly. "No, don't do it, Prongs. What did I tell you? _Don't _go in the girls' room while they're girls _in _there!"

Sirius, on the other hand, was egging James on. "Yes, my fair knight, the lady calls! Hop to it!"

James grinned. "Yes, I shall return with the lovely lady!"

Remus sighed audibly. "Why do I even bother?"

James had already gone with his secret item that helps him get up the tricky staircase.

And what else?

**His fancy riding stick. **

Er—his _broom_, mind you.

So, he went on his broomstick, and glided over the stairs and knocked on the girls' dormitory door rather boldly.

Hopefully, luck would be on his side.

Sigh. Like usual, it wasn't.

* * *

Author's Note:

Oh yes, I completely forgot to give credit where it's due last time…

Thanks to **Zarroc** for giving me the idea of letting Lily think the notebook was a girl. Kudos! Loved it.

Aha! Lily's inner turmoil. Heh, so evil.

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen

Thanks to the people who reviewed!


	11. Chapter 11

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

* * *

James knocked on the door again. Softly, in case he disturbed Lily from her sleep or something. His broom hummed quietly as he floated in midair.

No answer again.

He knocked one more time, this time loud and clear.

This time, a grumpy-looking Lily Evans opened the door, looking quite surprised at the unexpected form of one James Potter.

"Potter?" The word escaped her mouth as she stood there, looking shocked. Quickly, she regained her senses and shutting her mouth, closed the door in James's face. 'Closing' posing as a euphemism for slamming so hard that James's glasses fell askew.

"Er, Lily?" James's voice floated into the room.

Lily put her hands over her ears childishly.

James tried opening the door. It gave way easily. He got off his broom and slipped in.

Lily saw what had just happened. _Bugger it_.

"Go away, Potter. The last person I want to see is you," Lily muttered angrily, hiding behind the curtain of her bed.

James gently pulled away the curtain and revealed a livid Lily.

"Lily, I can explain…" James began, but Lily quickly whipped out her wand and muttering a quick spell, caused James to fling upside down, suspending him in midair. A thump sounded on the floor as something fell.

"Shut up, Potter. I don't want to listen to anything right now," Lily said acidly. "Besides, I _don't_ like you, contrary to your insanely wrong beliefs."

James was slowly turning bright red from all the blood rushing to his head.

"And," Lily continued, as she didn't notice this happening, "I just happen to think you're a bloody toerag that's too arrogant and pompous. Did I mention that you're extremely annoying? Nobody gives a damn about you. Especially m—"

Lily had suddenly saw James's changing color and gasped. "Oh Merlin! I'm so sorry—" At these words, she flicked her wand, causing James to crumple into a heap on the floor. "—I didn't mean to do that. It was just a warning—"

James was breathing for air on the ground. He then said in a voice quite unlike his, "It's all right, _Evans_. I got the idea." He spat the words out, looking hurt and angry at the same time.

_'Apparently, my words have finally gotten through his skull.' _Lily thought, with a twinge of regret for saying such harsh words.

"James, I didn't mean to—" Lily began, but her attempt was futile.

James shrugged it off and left the room saying, "It's _fine_."

Lily was not used to fighting with James and letting him have the last word.

She watched with a sinking feeling as James exited the room without another word.

Well, that is, until he slid down the spiral staircase and let out a horrific yell.

Lily sighed. _'That stupid git,'_ she thought to herself, almost fondly. She looked down on the ground, staring absently at the oaken floors when her eyes suddenly landed on an atrociously bright pink notebook.

Her eyes widened. It was the same notebook that she had saw James writing in so zealously days ago.

Hesitating, she reached down and picked it up. The soft fur felt oddly cuddly on her fingers.

She stroked it and suddenly a high-pitched voice shouted, "JAMES HENRY POTTER LOVES LILY MARIE EVANS!"

Startled, she dropped the book, and hoped that James did not hear that. Lily bent down and retrieved the book again and closed herself in the closest closet, hoping the many clothes would help muffle the sound in case the notebook made another outburst.

Lily lit her wand with _lumos_ and opened the book. She felt a bit guilty for reading something private to James Potter, but then remembered James liking this _Pink_.

Lily frowned. Perhaps she could find out what made _Pink_ so likeable.

With a grim face, she opened the book, taking care not to stroke the fur on the notebook.

After she finished reading the latest entry: "_LILY MARIE EVANS LOVES MY JA—" _which was abruptly cut off, she felt horrible and slightly scared.

Scared because James observed things about her meticulously, quite similar to a _stalker_. But as she knew James was not the type—she hoped, anyways—she thought his actions were plausible because well, he _was_ James Potter.

Horrible, because she didn't realize how much he liked her. She, Lily was forced to admit, had no idea that James _liked_ her _that_ much. Sure, James asked her out repeatedly each day, but she always thought it was a prank or cruel joke.

Which brought her to why she wasn't on great terms with James in the first place.

On the second day of the third year term, he had asked her out.

In front of _everyone_.

And then, almost every day, Lily could count on James asking her out.

After many upsetting thoughts, Lily thought of the only thing she _could_ do. She would apologize to James.

Tomorrow.

o.O.o.O.o

Lily had never felt so crappy in her life before. The next day, Lily was hopeful and feeling quite well.

That is, until she noticed that a certain boy with messy black hair and warm hazel eyes was suspiciously absent from the Marauders table at breakfast in the morning.

Then, there was no sign of him during Potions or Transfiguration.

No merciless teasing, the occasional helpful hint, or straight-out put downs. _Nothing_.

Oddly enough, Lily missed it.

She found herself staring absently at the empty chair James sat in at the front during Potions and again during Transfiguration.

Lily knew that James was purposefully ignoring her, so she went to ask the most sensible Marauder out of the four as to where he might be.

"Remus!" Lily called out after Transfiguration was over.

Remus looked up as Lily said his name and walked over. With a knowing look on his face, he asked, "Looking for James?"

Lily nodded, suddenly looking shy, as if Remus had found out something very secretive. "Yes."

"He's in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, drowning himself in stall number two," Remus informed her.

Lily widened her eyes, and Remus couldn't help but chuckle. "No, I'm just kidding. He's locked himself in the box in front of his bed in the boys' dormitory and refuses to come out."

"Oh."

"I suggest you go see him. It might do him—and _you_—some good," Remus suggested wisely.

Lily nodded and thanked him quickly, her target in mind.

The box in front of James Potter's bed in the Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory Room.

Soon enough, she found herself standing in front of it, debating on whether or not to open it.

She needn't debate any further.

James opened the box himself.

He saw no notice of Lily and was muttering to himself, "Where the bloody hell is Padfoot anyways? I'm starving."

James stepped out of the box, looking quite disheveled and grumpy and stepped onto something soft.

Lily's toe.

Lily let out a scream.

James, noticing Lily had caught him in a very non-presentable state, screamed too.

Lily toppled over, as the pain was getting to her, and James didn't seem to be stepping off anytime soon.

James too, toppled over.

The result?

A mass of wrinkling shirts, tangled limbs, and elongated yells.

"AHHHH—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Eck.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hope I updated quickly enough for you guys! Thanks for the comments and support.

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen

Thanks to the people who reviewed!


	12. Chapter 12

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

* * *

"_Well_."

That was all James could come up with to say.

_Something intelligent_, he had prayed, but well, 'well' summed it up quite well.

That was way too many 'well's in one sentence.

Anyways, Lily was still situated on top of James's neck, which was throbbing from the pain, and James's legs were entangled with Lily's arms.

What a mess.

"Erm, how about you move your arms, and I'll try to rearrange myself," James suggested, his voice muffled as he was currently facing the ground.

"Wait."

James's neck cricked as he tried to turn his head to listen to Lily. "Ouch. Yeah?"

"This is a good position."

"**_WHAT_**?" James could not believe his ears.

Thankfully, James could not see the blush forming on Lily's face.

"I meant that—oh, I just needed to talk with you, and you seemed like you were avoiding me, so…" Lily trailed off and hesitated.

James didn't dare take a breath. "Erm, yes?"

"D'you wanna be friends?" Lily asked in a hopeful tone.

"_Well_."

It seemed that 'well' was James's vocabulary word of the day.

"I know I've been a horrible person to you," Lily began quickly, "but I realize that I judged you wrongly. I don't mean to sound this like a cliché, but maybe we could start things over as friends?"

James did not say a single word.

"Um, James?"

Lily glanced underneath him and saw that James was having great difficulty breathing since Lily had been sitting on top of him for quite a long period of time.

"Oh, bugger!" Lily quickly slid off and untangled herself from him.

"Thanks," James breathed out, "that's loads better."

"Sorry about that," Lily apologized, looking remorseful.

"It's just dandy!" James said cheerfully. "So, we're friends now?"

Lily smiled. "Yes, if you'd like."

"That easy?"

"Yep. That easy."

"Okay. Hullo there, friend."

Lily grinned. "Hello."

James grinned as well. He quickly felt around his robes pocket, about to give Pink a hand-squeezed-hug when he suddenly noticed it was gone. _Crap_.

James looked panicky. "Oh Merlin! Oh Merlin's magical moose socks!"

"What happened, James?" Lily asked, looking at him curiously as James suffered from a mild panic attack.

"I lost it! _Pink_!" James cried, looking extremely dejected.

"Oh." Lily's voice was quite small, and thanked her quick thinking that she had already stuffed it in the Gryffindor Common Room's worn out armchair before coming to see James. "Might be in the Common Room."

"Nah, I always carry it with me," James said and then remembering, quickly explained, "Pink's a notebook, by the way."

"I know," Lily immediately responded, but realized her mistake.

"You do?" James asked, looking amazed at her. "Are you a _seer_?"

"Um, I—sometimes."

"_Sometimes_? Frogspawn, that is wicked cool!" James exclaimed eagerly. "That's bloody amazing!"

"Er, yeah—yeah, I guess so," Lily said, looking uncomfortable at lying to another person.

James then narrowed his eyes at Lily. "Wait a minute…I know what happened to sweet _Pink_! You!"

Lily looked horrified at being caught. She managed to squeak out a, "What?", and her face slowly turned red.

"Did you happen to see Sirius walking around with a pink, fluffy notebook that screams—oh, wait…did you see Sirius with a pink, fluffy notebook that erm—_doesn't _scream anything?" James fumbled with his words.

Lily breathed a small sigh of relief. _So James **doesn't** know. Thank Merlin. _"Erm, I dunno actually. I wasn't really looking for him anyways."

"He will be dealt with shortly," James announced gravely, sounding quite like a strict administrator.

"It's really probably in the Common Room, James," Lily tried to hint subtly again.

"Nah. I bet Sirius nicked it, that foul old bat," James said, muttering under his breath.

"Well, o-kay," Lily said, sighing. _At least he doesn't know_ _that I read his notebook. That would be pretty horrid_.

"Stupid dog! He _knows_ that I need it right now," James kept saying.

"Why right now?" Lily asked innocently.

"To write my daily enc—um, because I need to check to see what page our Transfiguration essay's based on," James said rather quickly, flushing.

"Page 577," Lily said automatically, glad to change the subject. "I'm guessing you didn't start yours yet?"

"Ah, well, I finished it, but I just wanted to check up a few facts," James said.

"Do you mind if you help me with mine?" Lily asked, blushing lightly. "I know you're rather good at Transfiguration, so…"

James grinned. _A chance to show off for her_. "Pleasure's mine."

The two magicked their essays into the boys' Common Room and sat down on the grime-infested, gum-plastered, dirty floor together and read page 577.

"See, it says to make a light jab towards the center," James said, scanning the page quickly, as he had already memorized the spell. "You make a small circular motion, then _bam_, right in the middle."

Expertly, James transfigured a piece of an old sock into a fragrant gardenia. "Here you are."

Blushing, Lily took the flower. "Thank you, James."

"Now try and transfigure—um, _this_," James said, holding up a battered rubber chicken, "to a plastic horse."

Lily concentrated hard and said the spell, making sure to mimic James's wand movements.

In mere seconds, James was gone.

Standing in front of her was a boldly white stag that replaced James, pawing peacefully at the torn rubber chicken.

"Oh _Merlin_!" Lily gasped, looking quite surprised at this. "I've accidentally transfigured _James_! I don't know how to do Human Transfiguration yet!"

Frantically turning the pages of the book, Lily panicked. "What am I going to do? What if I can't turn him back? McGonagall's surely going to bite my head off for this!"

Lily finally found the right page number and tried the reverse-spell for the first time.

She said the incantation and prayed.

James quickly changed back into normal human body.

Lily gave a loud sigh of relief. "You have no idea how glad I am that worked…that was my first time."

"It wasn't bad at all, but maybe you should've said _Ananemalia_ instead of _Onamenalia_," James said, chuckling to himself.

Lily widened her eyes. "Then how did I---how did I change you back when I said it wrong?"

James winked at her. "I have some maddening skills."

"That's incredible," Lily said, looking at him with newfound respect. "I've always known that you were very gifted at Transfiguration, but that's just--_wow_."

James grinned idiotically. "Thanks, Lily."

Lily forced herself to tear her eyes from his laughing eyes and bright smile. She also physically moved her head with her hands to make sure her sight was not lined up with James's very sexy jaw. "So…about this paragraph right here."

"Yes," James quickly directed his attention at the book, his face changing from light-hearted to a hardworking, serious one. "I think that the key points are right _here_," James said, pointing out the lines he just underlined.

"Okay, great! Thanks a lot, James."

"Anytime, Lily."

"James…" Lily hesitated.

"Yeah?"

"You really don't mind helping me with this?" Lily asked cautiously.

James shook his head. "Nah, of course not! It's not like you're one of those stupid bimbos that can't pick up a wand correctly…at least you have some brains so I don't get annoyed like I do with Sirius…Speaking of that bloke, I'm going to have his arse the next time I see him."

"And why is that?" Lily asked, looking at him with a curious expression.

"He stole Pink!" James exclaimed passionately, looking furious.

"Ah…that. I really think you should look in the Common Room," Lily said, and then seeing the skeptical look on James's face, quickly added, "You never know, Sirius might have hidden it there. It's worth a try."

James shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So, what's so wonderful about Pink now?" Lily tried again. She wanted to hear him say it.

"I—uh, I just write stuff in there," James said, looking bashful all the sudden. "Stuff I don't want _others_ to see." James looked pointedly at Lily when he said the word, 'others'.

"Like?" Lily prodded, a sly smile on her face.

"Erm—Quidditch," James lied, looking highly uncomfortable. "The tricky plays and stuff. If the other Quidditch teams gets it…"

Lily's smile fell. He was still scared to tell her. Maybe another time. "Oh. I see."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence passed as Lily fought with the sudden coldness that had gripped her heart rather painfully.

Perhaps another day…

_Or what if, James had moved on? _Lily shuddered at the thought and became even more depressed.

"You're a nice person," James said suddenly, looking oddly dazed.

Lily was bewildered at this comment. "Excuse me?"

"You're nice," was all James offered, and then he returned to reading the Transfiguration book.

Unsure of how to take this comment, Lily just stared off at the worn-looking blue sock with a pink fringe at the top.

**_What if_…**?

* * *

Author's Note:

A couple more chapters, I believe…maybe till 20?

Not quite sure yet. I go with the flow..

Please review! Thanks.

A big thanks to all my dutiful reviewers and new reviewers!

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen


	13. Chapter 13

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

James, however skeptical he was at taking Lily's advice, went to the Common Room and felt around the couches and armchairs.

About to give up and instead go up to the boys' dormitory and give Sirius a good kick up someplace and endanger the chances of Sirius procreating, he saw something oddly familiar sticking out of the corner of his favorite squishy, blue armchair that had a beautiful (in his mind, anyway) polka-dot pattern about it.

"_Pink_!" James gave a great, joyous shout as he was reunited with his beloved notebook.

Lily, lurking in the background, congratulated herself quietly and slid back into the shadows.

James then, after a tearful reunion with Pink and about ten minutes worth of documentation in his notebook, went upstairs to tell his good news to the rest of the Marauders.

o.O.o.O.o

"Sirius, you _prat_!" James greeted enthusiastically.

"What are you _on_, Prongs?" Sirius answered back, not quite as cheerful, having just been insulted to his face. "I **told **you a million times, at least, _not _to get into my stash of cra—"

James shook his head and intervened, "No, no. You're a prat because you hid Pink away from me when I needed it very urgently."

"Oh," Sirius said, then a look of confusion overcame him. "When did I do this?"

"Oh, I dunno, either today or yesterday," James said, giving a light shrug.

"I didn't hide Pink at all."

"Er—yeah, you did! I just found her snuggled in my favorite armchair. Now, who _else_ would do that, Padfoot?"

Sirius, for once, looked stumped at this answer. "I dunno."

Remus looked thoughtful for a minute and before Sirius could sprout out a random person's name, quickly said, "Well, the main thing is that you got it back. I think you should drop it, Prongs. It'd save a lot of things." He gave a mysterious smile at James, who merely agreed.

"Yeah." James stayed quiet for a few minutes, which was quite rare for him, and then said softly, "D'you reckon I should give up?"

"Give up what, precisely?" Remus asked, though he had a bad feeling he knew what James was about to say.

"Lily," James said in a mournful note. "I don't think we're ever going to be together. I mean we're friends now, but look how long that took—_nearly _six years! It's probably going to be another six years before me and her—"

"--She and I," Remus automatically corrected.

"—yes, yes, before she and I get together. By then, we're most likely going to never see each other again. So, what's the point?" James finished half-heartedly, looking very forlorn.

"Ah, Prongs, do not give up just yet!" Sirius said, giving a sagacious glance over at James, who was still looking rather depressed.

Remus also quickly gave in his own piece of advice. "It's probably going to evolve more quickly, James. Just think, _she_ was the one to offer friendship, not you. You still have hope, Prongs. Don't let those six years go to waste."

James's body gave a violent rattle as he said weakly, "I dunno…she's doesn't seem interested in me at all. I think I should lay low for now. I'm just really tired of waiting."

Sirius cocked an eyebrow up, looking at James in disbelief. "You're not in love with her anymore?"

James shook his head quickly. "No, no. I'm still madly in love…it's just that when she's not responding to anything, I dunno what to think. I'm just hoping these stupid feelings will go away if I don't see her as much anymore."

Remus sighed sadly. It wasn't like James to just let go. "It's whatever you want, James. I just hope you don't give her up."

Sirius nodded and grinned cheekily at James. "She's a hot redhead, I must say."

James shot Sirius a furious scowl at this comment, but let it go. He was giving up, anyways, _right_?

James sighed and announced tiredly. "I'm taking a nap. Mull things over, maybe."

Remus and Sirius both exchanged covert looks and leaned their heads together to discuss a plan after James's usual snores broke through the atmosphere.

"D'you think you can pull it off?" Remus asked worriedly, glancing over at James's snoring form.

"Of course! I'm a master at this," Sirius said, grinning broadly. "Jealousy, my friend, runs deep."

At these wise words, Sirius departed, in search of his subject.

Remus looked over at James again and sighed sadly. _Maybe sleeping will do him good_, Remus thought as he cast a spell on James that would awaken him in exactly ten minutes and make him have an urge to go downstairs, and left the room quietly.

o.O.o.O.o

"Ah, my dear Evans!" Sirius announced loudly, grinning at the flabbergasted redhead. "How are you today, my lady?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. Since _when_ was Sirius _Black_ so chivalrous and well-mannered? He was up to something. "What do you want, Black?"

Sirius gave her a cute pout, which Lily grudgingly admitted, forced her to soften up. "Aww, Evans, you make it sound like I'm needy or something!"

Lily scoffed. "Oh?"

Sirius nodded and then smiled almost bashfully. "But I _do_ need your help with something, Evans."

Lily laughed. "I knew it."

"Okay, okay, miss Potion Princess. I need some help with Potions, since you're obviously _so_ great at it," Sirius said, flattering her greatly.

Lily smiled. "Which one?"

"Well, you see…" Sirius leaned over, and they discussed it for a few minutes.

They bent their heads down at the table, mixing and adding ingredients.

James, yawning lightly, slowly ambled down the stairs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. _It feels like I've only slept for ten minutes_…_Padfoot? And **Lily**?_

His eyes widened, and he stopped in mid-step.

"Ooh, yes! That was _good_. You're a natural at this, Sirius," Lily said, beaming brightly, and then her hand quickly went down again to retrieve more ingredients.

James was crushed. To him, it looked like the two were flirting greatly and having a _very_ excellent time together.

Their heads bent together, almost like kissing. James felt a fire burn up inside him, and rushing up the stairs before he beat the lights out of his former best friend, slammed the door harshly and retreated to his bed.

Sirius, who was downstairs, and had heard, smirked to himself. _The plan is going rather smoothly_.

Lily looked alarmed. "Did you hear that, Sirius?"

Sirius shook his head amiably and gestured towards the happily bubbling potion. "Nope. Must have been a house-elf. Don't fret your head about it. Look, it's done, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's the perfect shade of tranquil blue," Lily said, smiling, as she too looked at the potion.

"Great! Thanks a lot, Lily. Now, if you'll excuse me," Sirius said, apologizing as he went upstairs to suffer the wrath of Jamie Poo-poo.

o.O.o.O.o

"_What _the bloody hell were you doing downstairs?" James exploded with great fury as soon as Sirius stepped into the room.

"Er, does it matter? I'd prefer not to brag my snogging techniques in front of other guys…" Sirius said, grinning to himself. "It _is_ a private matter."

James's eye bulged out quite abnormally. "You _what_?"

"Well, you see, it's like _this_," Sirius said, and pressed his two index fingers together and mushed them very hard. "And then, well, _you_ know what happens when two people snog…"

"I can't believe you!" James cried, livid. "I say that I'm going to back off for a minute, then all of the sudden, who goes? I _am _your best friend, aren't I?"

Sirius shuffled uncomfortably at the genuine hurt in James's voice. "Well, yeah, but—_listen_, Prongs, this is for your own good, all of this."

"_My own good_?" James repeated, glaring hard at Sirius. "How is _you _kissing Lily good for _me_?"

Sirius grinned. "Ah, but you see, it _wasn't _Lily I was snogging."

"It wasn't?" James asked, looking confused. "But I saw you guys…"

"No, we were just innocently working on a potion. I, on the other hand, have just finished kissing my wonderful potion we concocted. Hah, just like Moony said you would react," Sirius said, smirking as Remus came into view.

"My dear Prongs," Remus said, coming forward and grinning as well. "Did that or did that not enflame your desire for Miss Evans once more?"

Comprehension dawned on James as he said these words. "_Ohh_. Well, yes, but I honestly don't—"

"Wrong," Sirius cut in cheerfully. "I heard that door slam quite angrily. The poor hinges—I might be looking into it later."

Remus then added, "Yes, you're not quite over Lily yet. In fact, you seemed pretty into her, judging from what you just did. Stop trying to find an easy way out, Prongs. You know you're in love with her. Love isn't an easy course."

James blinked twice. "Yeah," he began hoarsely, letting the truth sink in. "I think so."

"You know so."

With a determined nod, James concluded that he was going to get Lily freaking Evans, if not in ten years, most definitely in the end.

* * *

Author's Note:

Aww, this was a sad chapter to write (in the beginning anyways)..

Please review! Thanks.

A big thanks to all my dutiful reviewers and new reviewers!

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen


	14. Chapter 14

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily && James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter—that _worm_, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

* * *

James had very casually sidled up quietly to the pretty redhead sitting contently in the nearly empty Gryffindor Common Room, reading to herself and muttering under her breath, giving off a look of pure confusion that James found highly attractive. "Hullo there, Lily!"

Lily looked startled at his voice, as if she was wondering whether or not he was real, and then quickly regained her composure. "Hi, James."

"How are you?" James asked in a confident manner, beaming down at her.

Lily raised an eyebrow. Just yesterday he had seemed quite hesitant with talking to her. In fact, she had even _feared_ that he didn't like her anymore. Today, he was back to normal, perhaps with more fervor than before. _Weird_…

"Oh, I'm just a bit tired," Lily replied, yawning lightly. "What about you?"

"Just peachy." James looked very cheerful. "What are you reading?" He gestured at the book sitting in Lily's lap. The writing was very small, so James could not lean over to look at it. '_Besides, it's Lily's business,_' James thought chivalrously.

"Oh…um, that's—that's nothing," Lily said extremely hastily and made to stow her thin book quickly out of sight. "Just a bit of homework I have yet to finish, nothing really important."

"Oh, really?" James cast her a somewhat skeptical look, but let it pass, for which Lily was very grateful. _It would be humiliating if James should happen to see my…_

James interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. "There's a Hogsmeade trip in two weeks. I would love it if you'd come with me. Do I have the honor?"

Lily was very torn when she heard this question. _This_ was the moment she had been waiting for nearly days now, but she wasn't prepared yet. She threw him a very rueful look and wrung her hands tightly with extreme nervousness. "Erm, well--_oh_, James, I don't know!"

"Oh." James looked crestfallen and quite dismayed as he heard her reaction. _I was so sure that **maybe** this time…_

"I'm so sorry, James, it's just that I'm really confused right now, and I don't know what to say," Lily quickly said, looking truly apologetic. "It's not you. You're a wonderful per--"

"It's fine," James said, intervening, but Lily could hear the definite stiffness and forced politeness in his tone. "Maybe some other time then, eh? If you're up to it, that is."

"James, listen, honestly, I—_James_!" Lily called after him as he stood to leave, standing up rapidly, but he had already quietly disappeared without turning back. He _always _looked back…even if he was mad with her. Lily thought of this sadly and retreated to her usually comfortable armchair, but right now she was so angry with herself for doing what she just did that she felt she was sitting on a bundle of spines. Perhaps she was wrong to be so cautious…was she?

"Arrrrgh," Lily said eloquently and pulled out the book she was reading, or _thinking over quite a lot_, rather. She opened it to where she had neatly drawn out two columns, labeled out as pros and cons. At the top of the page was a recognized name in her small, neat handwriting, _James Potter_.

Sighing, she looked back on it, wondering what she _would_ have said if she finished the cons list two minutes earlier before James came down to ask her. _My answer hopefully would be the same.. _Lily tried to think, but a guilty feeling weighed her down as she flailed to get out. Truthfully, her heart beat rather fast when James came up to her like that, when she least expected it…and his eyes were so very _mesmerizing_.

Shaking her head sadly at the thought of James, she looked down at the list, trying to figure out what her thoughts of that one particular disheveled black-haired boy was.

Under pros, she had written down, 'hilarious, nice, sweet, pretty cute, adorable, intriguing, highly intelligent, very sexy jaw. He adores me.'

Under cons, 'arrogant prat (used to be), moody at times, unpredictable, weird, infuriating.'

She stared at the list as soon as she finished listing the cons section. Nine items in pros and five cons. However…

Lily sighed. This was proving harder than she thought. She _did_ notice that James wasn't being as arrogant as possible; he was now simply confident in things he did. He no longer had the swagger he walked with and the smug smirk that always hung from his face. Instead, a warm, bright smile would always light up every time _she_ came into view.

She also figured that she couldn't blame him for being moody, for she had her own mood swings, and she was also highly aware that people always said Lily Evans was a PMSing monster queen.

Lily liked order. She was a perfectionist, hated surprises, and did not like change. Actually, she _loathed_ change.

So why in Merlin's beard did she think James being unpredictable was starting to become a pro? She had definitely written it down in the cons section, but now, thinking back on it, she realized she actually _liked_ the random things they talked about. He, in essence, complemented her, Miss I-Hate-Spontaneous-Things-That-Just-Happen-Randomly.

Weird though he was, there was nothing she could really do about that. It would be one of the things she would simply have to accept about him and move on.

Infuriating. That last word Lily had listed down in the cons section brought Lily a fresh wave of memories forth from the back of her mind. The constant battles, debates, and snide remarks they returned to each other every day. Lily was forced to admit, she had always tried to prepare for them, thinking over good telling-offs the night before. So in fact, James had always been a large part of her mind. Lily started as she suddenly realized that she _enjoyed_ them. It was a way to sharpen her mind, and there always was also a surge of adrenaline that ran through her body every time she debated heatedly with James and won.

She missed them quite terribly.

Lily missed how they argued over everything, including the topic of whether or not pumpkin juice was in fact a drink with orange colored additives mixed inside or pure 100 squeezed juice from the pumpkins down in the vegetable patch near the wizarding school.

It was in fact, Lily found out later, pure pumpkin juice, since James sneaked off one day to see exactly how the pumpkin juice was made and proudly announced it the day after.

She had lost that round of debate.

But now, looking back, she has lost something more important than the knowledge of the ingredients of pumpkin juice. Something, quite possibly, that would never come back to her if she did not act accordingly.

She had lost James—not only as a friend and sparring partner, but as well as the person that she had a very good possibility of perhaps being something more with.

And what made her feel the worst was, _she_ was the cause of it all.

_She _herself was the reason she had lost everything. The awareness hit her with full force, and she slumped back in the armchair, her stomach feeling awfully empty at the thought of it.

A sudden idea of precisely what she needed to do—the right thing that would make things all better—hitting her, Lily quickly sat up in her seat and stood.

She needed to find one James Potter, and very _quickl_y.

* * *

Author's Note:

I think _**one **_more chapter should do it. Thank you guys for sticking it with me the entire time! I'm very grateful for that.

Please review! Thanks.

A **big** thanks to all my dutiful reviewers and new reviewers, thank you as well!

Reviews **greatly **appreciated…!

neen


	15. Chapter 15

LILY EQUALS LIFE

By: n33n

* * *

Okay, a new approach to the whole Lily James madness. James is arrogant and charming as ever…Sirius hot, yet maddening at the same time…Remus, quiet and thoughtful…Peter-that worm, and Lily? Oh, Lily's still feisty and kicking. Kicking James in the OUCHES.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

* * *

"James?"

James stiffened noticeably in the old armchair he was currently sitting in, and had been pondering what he was going to do.

_James, James, James_…The voice that haunted his dreams, both in wakening and sleep. Soft, gentle, and music to his ears.

The one person he could not bear to look at for the moment, not after that crushing rejection, when he had been so hopeful, that maybe--_finally _Lily would say yes…

But alas, he was proved to be greatly wrong. _'Lily was so hesitant in her answer_,' James thought very sadly, and a lump formed in his throat most unpleasantly.

"James?" An uncertain voice, most definitely belonging to the person of his affections, asked again.

James forced a fake, wide smile and made himself turn around to meet her, the girl who had caused him so much grief and sadness.

_'She's so pale_,' was the first concerned thought that came to his mind. "Hi there, Lily!" James said in an excessively enthusiastic voice that sounded quite unlike his own.

"James…" Lily began for the third time, looking quite tired and sad as well.

"It's fine weather we're having out here, isn't it?" James asked, looking outside, clearly not noticing it was raining rather hard and thundering most profusely.

"It's pouring outside, James. Dreadful rain," Lily said, pointing at the foggy window, wanting to get in at least a few more words before James managed to interrupt her again.

"Ah, oh well. Would you like some lovely sweet pastries Padfoot's just nicked from the kitchens?" James offered heartily, generously shoving a plate underneath her nose.

Lily shook her head no and wiped at the sticky sugars that had stuck to her nose. "I-"

"Take one, Lily. They're delicious," James said in an insisting manner, promptly interrupting her by shaking the plate slightly in her face.

"Oh, fine-thank you." Lily gingerly took an apple cinnamon curl from the plate. Their fingers brushed very lightly just as Lily reached over to get one at the side. Lily's bright eyes snapped upwards to meet James's, but he was looking past Lily, as if he wanted nothing more than to concentrate on the delicate engravings on the stairwell.

"James, we really must talk," Lily said firmly after taking a small bite of her pastry. James still did not look at her, but placed the plate of desserts down on a nearby table.

Instead, he asked happily, not meeting Lily's eyes, "Aren't these good? I'll have Padfoot nick some more later if you'd like."

"James." Lily was growing tired of James dodging the subject. She _really _needed to talk to him about her feelings…and most importantly, **them**.

James suddenly dropped his happy demeanor, and a frosty one took its place very quickly. "Yes, _Lily_?"

"Listen, James, I-"

"You've come to give me more heartache? I've had my fill, thanks. I won't be bothering you anymore," James interjected coldly, and Lily felt despair wrap around her.

"James-" she tried again. She placed down her pastry on the table next to the platter, not caring for once that it was going to be unhygienic to eat later and was going to be most likely covered with germs reproducing at tripled rate every twenty minutes.

"Just tell me." James's voice became very soft.

"Tell you…?"

"Why…" James breathed out, his head shaking slightly, "Why did I have to fall in love with you?"

Unexpected tears sprung to Lily's eyes. She had indeed, hurt James very deeply, and she regretted her indecisive words she had said before. "I'm so sorry-I didn't mean any of the wor-"

James put a hand up, signaling for Lily to stop. "It's all right. It's not your fault anyways. I just made-a bad decision."

Lily winced at these words. She had to say-or do-something, **fast**.

Not knowing what made her do it, except for perhaps, momentary impulse and desperation, Lily leaned in on an unsuspecting James and closed James's mouth with hers.

Lily felt James relax as soon as he realized what had happened, but soon, he pulled away slowly, a look full of mixed emotions embracing his face as he stared at her with wonder.

"What," he asked in a hoarse whisper, "are you trying to do?"

Lily was crying now, losing her control. "I haven't drunk any pumpkin juice for nearly over three years now, because of that one stupid debate we had back in fourth year."

James looked bewildered at this quite random outburst. "That-"

It was now James's turn to be interrupted many, many times.

"-In second year, I started to use a new path to get to classes just to get away from your pranks everyday."

"Lily-"

"-I hated it every single time you helped me in Transfiguration, because I knew that you were right."

"Oh, bu-"

"-I miss everything. Even if we were supposed 'enemies', I still liked the attention you gave me. Don't you **see**, James? You've occupied my thoughts for the past six years of my life-all the time. I just haven't realized it until now."

James was openly gaping at these words. "I-"

"I've ruined it all, haven't I?" Lily sighed sadly and gave a small rueful smile at this, and James, seeing this, wore a very torn expression on his face.

"Now, Lily, it's-"

There was a small smile exploding from beneath her tears now. "-And most of all, I haven't liked anyone as much as I've liked you, because you are…" Lily took a deep breath, "…absolutely incredible, even if I've just noticed it. I love everything-everything-about you, even your absurdly stupid stubbornness and random comments and-"

But she could not say anymore words, for James had bent down and kissed her, muffling her ramblings in the process.

_'Sometimes_,' Lily thought with renewed happiness to herself as she deepened the kiss between them, _'words can be quite extraneous.'_

Actions speak louder than words.

Obviously.

* * *

Author's Note: 

Well, it's done. It was hard to write these last few chapters, because I didn't want it to be too lighthearted and not taken seriously…I wanted to show that Lily was obviously really struggling in her mind. James had pushed her when he asked her out in the last chapter, and Lily was very confused with her feelings and had frankly, no idea what to do.

Us girls.

Anyways, now I'm going to concentrate on more of the funny stories, like **ODDS AND ENDS **and my latest story: **MARAUDERS 101**. I find it quite enjoyable to write…so please check it out.

Of course, I'll be updating **Whipped By Mrs. Lily Potter**, but it will not be as hilarious as the other stories I have.

Please try them. I don't guarantee you'll enjoy them, but at least try. So take your pick or poison, whichever option you prefer.

Thank you guys so much for enduring this very long story. I've never been one to write more than ten chapters or so…I must say, this is a record!

Please review! Thanks.  
A big thanks to all my dutiful reviewers and new reviewers, thank you as well!

Reviews greatly appreciated…! neen


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